


Chances at Happiness

by missberrycake



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-03
Updated: 2011-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-01 14:57:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/358128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missberrycake/pseuds/missberrycake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Arthur and Eames are both oblivious. </p><p>Inspired by <a href="http://inception-kink.livejournal.com/15916.html?thread=32425260#t32425260">a prompt</a> on the Inception kink-meme: "AU Arthur and Eames are best friends, have been for years, one of them is getting married and the other has secretly been in love with them this entire time, angst and UST between A/E and HAPPY ENDING, one of them confesses or they hook up drunkenly at the bachelor party or something and it turns out the fiance(e) sucks anyway so A/E end up together. PLEEEASEE"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chances at Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Yeay! for unrequited love that is actually requited.

Eames glared at the screen in front of him. He’d been staring at this one document for forty minutes and still only the title ‘My Best Man Speech’ blinked back at him. He hauled himself forward and slowly started to type. 

‘What can I say about Arthur and Isabelle? He’s my closest friend and could do so much better, I honestly can’t understand why he even likes her.’

His head hit the desk as he slammed delete. 

To think, not two months ago nobody had even heard of Isabelle. He and Arthur could be sitting on the sofa, with a couple of beers and Arthur would be laughing at Eames’ latest terrible joke. Like it should be. Stupid Isabelle. What was so great about her anyway? Now the wedding was a week away and Eames still had to write the speech as well as organise Arthur’s bachelor party. 

Yes, he might be lying to himself about why he was angry. Granted, Isabelle hardly deserved Arthur, but Eames couldn’t pretend he was anything but horribly jealous and heartbroken. He’d been completely in love with Arthur since the first moment he’d laid eyes on him at College and then he’d gone and got himself stuck in the friend zone. How? To this day he didn’t know. He’d used all his considerable charm, but Arthur had started dating Lindsay. Then Sarah, then Michael, Peter, Susan, Ben. Now it was Isabelle and they were actually getting married. Married! After two months! Ariadne hadn’t even met her yet. 

Fortunately, the phone rang and saved Eames from his thoughts. And that blasted speech. 

“Hello?” he grumbled into the receiver.

“Eames, hey. Glad I caught you. What time are we all meeting tomorrow? I forgot.” Yusuf’s cheerful voice greeted him.

“About 12:30 I think Cobb said. You know where he lives?” Eames stifled a yawn. Having your heart silently torn open was tiring. 

“Yeah. Ariadne’s going to be there, right?”

Eames smiled to himself, “Yes. She’s an honorary male for the occasion.” Eames had enlisted the help of all of their friends to arrange this party. Too bad he wasn’t going to enjoy a single moment of it. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, alright?”

“Cool. See you there.” Yusuf hung up. 

Eames shuffled back to his desk, resuming his resigned post in front of his laptop and saw his phone flash. It was a text from Arthur.

‘You free? Wedding talk driving me insane :)’

Tell me about it. Eames could not cope with listening to Arthur moan about Isabelle for one more minute. This was the thing, Arthur didn’t even seem to like Isabelle that much, but was just being blind to his own future misery. Eames would be so much better. He’d make Arthur his favourite coffee. He’d buy him a wardrobe of those fancy suits he liked. They’d curl up on the sofa watching crappy horror movies that Arthur still loved even though they honestly terrified him. They’d-

Now Eames was wasting time thinking about what if’s again.

He rattled off an excuse to Arthur and headed for bed. Next week was going to be a tough one. 

~

The next morning Eames faced the cold, sharp wind in his face as he walked towards Cobb’s flat. Cobb had worked with Arthur since Arthur had started working for Saito & Co seven years ago. Eames almost thought that Arthur would ask Cobb to be best man instead of him. When Arthur did, in fact, ask him Eames had felt a dim pride swell in his chest. That was until he realised all that was going to mean was he would have a front row seat to his best friend and dream future being snatched away from him. 

As a particularly icy breeze hit his face he decided to stop in the next Cafe his saw to revive himself with a brew. Five minutes later he turned to leave for the street, polystyrene cup warming his hands, and saw her. Isabelle. Not wanting to be recognised and actually have to talk to the woman, he jumped into a creaking seat behind a pillar. 

Turning his head, Eames spied Isabelle at the counter with another man. Another man who had his arm around Isabelle’s waist. Another man who was brushing hair from her face. 

Eames sat flat against the pillar and breathed heavily, his heart racing. This couldn’t be just his imagination playing with him, it couldn’t. If Isabelle was being unfaithful to Arthur- It made Eames’ blood boil. He couldn’t decide what he hated more, the idea of Arthur marrying someone else, or the idea of Arthur, his wonderful Arthur, getting his heart broken. 

Eames risked another look. Isabelle and the man were now cuddled up in the corner of the Cafe, hands entwined and giggling to each other. He felt a little sick. How could she do this to Arthur? Why would she? He was angry on Arthur’s behalf. What was wrong with him? Isabelle was lucky that Arthur had even given her the time of day. 

Not able to look at their smiling faces one moment longer, he strode to the door.

His cup of tea was left untouched on the table.

As he cut through the throngs of people in the street, Eames thought about how he should be happy. As soon as Arthur found out, he would leave Isabelle, surely. Hadn’t that been exactly what Eames had wanted? Eames stopped in the street. He was fooling himself. This wouldn’t make any difference. Arthur was not interested in him. They were friends, best friends, that was all. 

It was then, standing in that crowded street, cold wind whipping up around him, that Eames decided to finally let it go. He would stop this ridiculous fawning over the unobtainable. Arthur would be free to find someone who loved him and who he loved back and Eames would do the same. Ten years of pining was too much. 

With that Eames straighten up. He wiped his cheeks free of the tears he hadn’t realised he’d been shedding and walked forward, to a new beginning.

~

Ariadne was snorting into her glass on the sofa at something Yusuf had said when Cobb let Eames into his flat. 

“Jesus. Cheer up Eames, it might never happen.” 

“It already did.” Eames tugged his coat off and slumped on to one of Cobb’s spongy chairs as the three of them gathered round, confusion written over their faces.

“Arthur’s bride to be? She’s cheating on him. I saw her with this man as I was walking over here.”

Cobb, Ariadne and Yusuf stared.

“Shit.” Ariadne pulled her hair back from her head, eyes wide. 

Cobb eyed Eames intensely and Eames squirmed under his gaze. “Philippa, James. Can you go play in your rooms?” Cobb spoke up, still looking at Eames. “You saw them? You’re sure?”

He had replayed the moment in his mind enough already. “Yeah. They were all over each other. It was definitely Isabelle.” Cobb grimaced and turned away.

Ariadne had curled in on herself at the end of the sofa. “This is gonna tear him up.” She pushed herself forward, “What are we going to do?”

“Well, we have to tell him. He can’t marry her.” Eames had never told anybody about his feelings for Arthur, they all thought the two of them were just friends. Which is exactly what they were, he reminded himself. “She’s a terrible human being. I don’t know what he saw in her anyway.” 

Everybody ‘hmm’d’ in agreement before silenced descended upon them.

“Eames, it should be you that tells him,” said Yusuf, “he’ll take it better coming from you.” 

“He trusts you more than any of us.” Cobb added.

“You’re closer to him. He confides in you.” Ariadne piped up.

Part of him knew that it was mainly that none of them wanted to be the one to tell Arthur, but he also knew that they were right. He was the one to discover it and he was Arthur’s best man. If he could soften the blow, he would. It was just a question of actually doing it. Seeing Arthur genuinely upset was never something that he wanted to contribute to. 

“Yeah, alright” he sighed. 

Ariadne shot up and handed him Cobb’s phone. He stared up at her in horror.

“What. You want me to do it now?” he pointed at the phone, weariness tainting his features. 

“Um. Yes? Of course. Arthur can’t go wondering around thinking everything’s coming up roses.”

A slight terror ran through his body then. “No. I have to ease him down gently. His bachelor party isn’t for a few days. I’ll tell him before then.” 

He bit his own lip. It’s for his own good he told himself. It didn’t make him feel any better.

~

It was the morning before Arthur’s bachelor party and Eames had still not told him. It’s not that he didn’t want to say anything, he did, he really did. Only every time Eames had broached the subject in the past couple of days Arthur had run away or changed the conversation. He’d literally run away from Eames yesterday when he had mentioned seeing Isabelle in the Cafe, muttering excuses about dress rehearsals, and Eames had not seen Arthur since. 

Until now. Cobb, Ariadne, Yusuf and he were all waiting for Arthur and Isabelle. Ariadne was going to meet her for the first time and then they would go on to the party. Eames was feeling rather ill. 

Cobb stood up next to him and Eames looked up. The two of them had just entered the bar and, damnit, Arthur looked gorgeous. It took Eames’ breath away when he realised he’d never be with him. 

Arthur met Eames’ eyes and beamed at him, “Eames, hey. Sorry about running out on you yesterday.” Eames was about to shake the apology off when Arthur walked up to him and wrapped his arms around his body in a fiercely tight hug. Eames entire body tingled. When Arthur released him, he clapped Eames on the shoulder. Like best friends do, Eames chastised himself.

He could feel the others glaring at him by this point and saw, out of the corner of his eye, Yusuf made a ‘tell him now’ gesture with his eyes. 

Eames sighed. “Actually, I do have something I really need to speak with you about. It’s-”

The dimpled grin that Eames had learnt to thrive on faltered at his words and he saw Arthur’s eyes dart, panicked, around the room. What was going on with him? Arthur jumped next to grab Ariadne. 

“It can wait. Ariadne, this is Isabelle,” Arthur gestured between the two women, “Isabelle, this is Ariadne. She works for Saito too.” As the two women exchanged pleasantries (although none particularly pleasant from Ariadne) Eames looked at Arthur, who blushed under the scrutiny and turned away.

There was a slightly awkward moment when it was clear Ariadne and Isabelle were supposed to be making conversation but Ariadne had folded her arms and was simply glaring at Isabelle. Eames could almost swear she was bearing her teeth. Cobb coughed uncomfortably beside him.

Arthur clapped, “Right. So, I’ll get you a cab.” Arthur placed a hand around Isabelle’s waist and Eames cringed at the sheer wrongness of it all. “Then we’ll all get it started, yeah?” He walked off with his moronic fiancé and everybody let out a breath.

“This is terrible.” Cobb spoke as he shook his head in the direction the two of them had left, “I mean, it’s an actual disaster. Why haven’t you told him yet?” Cobb rounded on him.

Eames held his hands up, “I’ve been trying. He’s being all weird, keeps getting out of it.”

“Eames! He can’t get out of it if you just sit him down and tell him. The wedding is tomorrow for goodness sake.” Ariadne looked exasperated.

Eames had almost had enough of this stress, “Oh! Tomorrow is it? I didn’t know. I’ll definitely work much harder on making sure my best friend doesn’t marry the worst person in the world now then. I’d only been doing a half-arsed job before.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Arthur’s shoes could be heard clicking on the floor seconds before he turned up beside them all. He looked slightly bemusedly at them and Eames realised he had a frown plastered on his face.

“Ok. Arthur, seriously. We all want to talk to you about Isabelle-” Eames began, but Arthur cut him off. Again.

“No!” He smiled and took Eames’ and Cobb’s arms, dragging them towards the door, “No talking about fiancés or weddings or any of that crap tonight. We,” he squeezed their arms as Yusuf and Ariadne caught up with the three of them, “are going to have the best night of our young lives.”

He looked so determined that Eames almost whimpered. When Arthur got an idea into his head, it was hard to do anything to change it. Usually he loved that about him. Not tonight he thought solemnly as the group stepped on to the cold pavement.

By the time they’d gotten into a club (Eames hadn’t actually organised anything special, he’d pretty much assumed there wouldn’t be a party) all of them had tried and failed to make Arthur stop and listen to sense. 

Ariadne had taken Arthur off to the dance floor. “You guys sit here. This is madness. I’m going to dance some of this idiocy out of him and then you,” Ariadne poked Eames in the chest, “are going to take him out and tell him what has happened.” Then she was gone with a twirl into the crowd.

Eames sat glumly as the music pulsed around him, clinging to his warm beer.

“Did she just say she was going to dance his idiocy out of him?” 

Eames turned to Cobb, who looked absurdly old surrounded by sweating hives of twenty-something’s. “Yes. You never know, it might work. Nothing else has.” 

Arthur’s behaviour was really worrying Eames. He wouldn’t hear a bad word against Isabelle. What if Eames told him and he didn’t believe it? What if he stayed with her? Eames hadn’t even considered that idea before. When he thought about it, if he and Arthur were together, he couldn’t honestly say he would leave if Arthur cheated on him. It would be foolish, but Eames didn’t think he could take being apart from him. Maybe Arthur felt that way about Isabelle.

Eames stood up. Time to stop over-thinking and do something. “Right gents. It’s time. Arthur is going to listen to me, or I’ll die trying.”

He thought he heard Cobb murmur and Yusuf give a half-hearted ‘whoop’ as he plunged into the throng of bodies on the dance floor. He spotted Arthur and Ariadne near the edge of the floor and marched forward. 

“Hi Ariadne. I need to talk to Arthur now” he half shouted.

Ariadne stilled and nodded, “Alright, good luck.” Before she left she gave Arthur a hug and kissed him on the cheek then passed Eames with a look which Eames knew meant ‘do it properly’.

Arthur turned to Eames, “Come on. Don’t be a kill-joy. It’s my last night as a free man, let me have some fun. It’ll be like the old days.” Eames felt Arthur’s searching gaze, but left for the front of the club. He could hear Arthur follow him. Thank God.

They moved against a nearby wall to shelter from the cold. The silence was ringing in Eames’ ears. As he faced Arthur, he properly looked at his friend. The man before him was seemed so much smaller than usual. He looked like a man who had given up, Eames should know. He was surprised when Arthur spoke first.

“Don’t say anything Eames, please. Don’t ruin it.” Arthur voice was so quiet, Eames shut his eyes and grimaced. 

Looking up he spoke, “I have to say it. I know you don’t want to hear a bad word against her, but you must know. She’s a horrible person Arthur. She’s cheating on you. I saw her with another man last week, I’ve been trying to tell you for days. I didn’t mean to leave it so late. I know the weddings tomorrow and I know you love her, but you can’t go through with it Arthur, you can’t.” He sucked in a breath. Arthur’s face was expressionless. “Look, we’ve been best friends for years so I know that you could do so much better than her. You deserve to be with someone who loves you. Someone who has to pinch themselves everyday to make sure that your real, who’d do anything you’d ask of them. You’re so perfect Arthur. You’re smart and serious and kind and funny. If she can’t see that then she’s nothing. Frankly, I won’t let you. I refuse. You can’t get married without your best man and I’m certainly not going to go to her wedding. You can’t marry her.”

Eames stared at Arthur, tapping his fingers nervously on his leg. He may have revealed a little too much there.

“Is that all?” Arthur looked miserable, his hair was ruffled and his eyes downcast.

Eames’ mouth dropped. She’s brainwashed him, “Yes! That’s all – isn’t that enough?” his voice slightly higher than usual in his outrage.

Arthur shifted his wait uncomfortably, “I already knew she was seeing someone else, she has been for ages.”

“What?” Eames ran a hand across his face. “You’ve only known her two months, you know she’s having an affair,” he counted off his fingers as he went, “she’s a complete ice-queen and yet you’re still planning on going ahead with the wedding? Tell me Arthur, when did you turn into such a masochist?” 

In the back of his mind he realised he was being slightly hypocritical with the accusations of masochism, but this was Arthur suffering. This was different.

That’s when Arthur crumbled. He slid down the wall and pulled his knees close to him. Eames followed him down like a magnet. “I found out a few weeks ago. Came home early from work and he was there. They didn’t see me, she doesn’t know I know.” He sighed and shook his head, “You wanna know the worst thing?” Arthur smiled slightly, “I think his name’s Pierre. Pierre.” The look of mock disgust on his face soon melted away. 

The next words Eames spoke softly as Arthur looked like anything too sudden would spook him, “Why did you carry on with it all then? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Arthur gave him a quick smile, “It’s nothing to do with Isabelle really. I-” Arthur cut himself short and let out a frustrated growl, “I shouldn’t be doing this to her. I don’t love her. I never have.”

Eames wanted to say something, but couldn’t think of the words to voice his building confusion. Arthur took the hint. “If you must know, I’m in love with someone else. I’ve been in love with him for years.” 

Eames had often wondered what it was to have your heart broken. He thought, after all his years of following Arthur around like some lost puppy, he’d experienced enough. No. He realised now that those times were nothing, just scratches on the surface. As he looked on at Arthur’s face, how it lit up when he spoke, he knew. It was like a void. 

Arthur carried on speaking, as if he hadn’t even noticed Eames’ world collapse.

“...but I’ll never have him.” Arthur sighed, “He’s not interested in me and I thought, rather than carry on torturing myself -because that’s what it is Eames, it’s torture- I would get on with my life. So,” he tilted his head towards the club, “when I met Isabelle I thought ‘why not? She’s interested, she’s bearable’,” he laughed without it reaching his eyes, “bearable?” He turned towards Eames, “not much of a basis for marriage right? I just wanted to forget him, but I can’t.”

He could see moisture gather in Arthur’s eyes and began to panic. Eames lifted an arm over his should and pulled him close. Even though it hurt him, he couldn’t let Arthur bear this on his own.

“Oh god.” Arthur curled into him and Eames squeezed his eyes shut against it all, “he’s fucking amazing, so fucking amazing.” He felt Arthur laugh onto his neck, “I hated him at first, smarmy git, but, in the end, he’s the only thing that keeps me going. It’s like he’s the one thing dragging me forward, but I can’t move on from him either, I can’t leave him.” 

Arthur lifted himself from Eames’ grasp and looked him in the eye.

“Eames, why did you have to be like you are? Huh? Why couldn’t you just leave me be?” 

Eames heart stopped. 

“Sorry?” He said. Stupidly.

“Don’t hate me. Don’t freak out. I just can’t carry on pretending for another ten years. You’re right. I can’t marry Isabelle, I won’t. I love you.”

And just like that the newly formed void inside Eames exploded. He actually felt light-headed. This was some sort of cosmic joke. Arthur -his Arthur- loved him. All that time Eames had spent pining in vain was actually ... not. This kind of shit only happened in rom-coms. Out of his mouth came the most coherent sentence Eames could come up with.

“Shut up.”

At that, a tear spilled down Arthur’s horrified face. Eames immediately back-tracked.

“No. I mean, I love you too,” he stumbled over his words, “I’ve always loved you. I thought you just wanted to be friends, I didn’t think-” fuck it.

Eames grabbed Arthur’s face and pressed their lips together.  
There was a split second where Arthur was still, but then he pulled Eames closer. Eames closed a hand around Arthur’s hip, the other in his hair as Arthur stroked his sides. He could feel Arthur’s breath, feel his heart beating close. Arthur moaned quietly into his mouth and Eames knew that this was it. This was all he would ever need. 

After what seemed like an age they broke apart, breathing heavily. Arthur’s eyes were dark as he framed Eames face with his hands. When he spoke Eames felt his cheek tingle from the heat. 

“We should go,” he spoke in a rough voice.

Eames nodded, swallowing harshly, before he pulled Arthur up and into a nearby cab. Their hands stayed clasped around each others, heads close together, until they reached Eames’ flat.

~

This next morning Eames walked around his flat in a daze. He kept peeking into the bedroom to check Arthur was still there. Arthur came out of his room, fully dressed with a shy grin accompanying him. Eames handed him a cup of coffee.

“So. Good night?”

Arthur smiled into his cup, “Alright, yeah.” He moved to lean back on the counter next to Eames, “turns out this guy I like actually liked me all along.”

“I think he more than likes you” Eames replied, casually kissing the corner of Arthur’s mouth.

They stared goofily at each other for a moment until Arthur came out with, “Jesus, this is unreal. I mean, it’s great, it’s like a goddamn dream – but still weird. We’ve been so stupid” 

Eames laughed, “At least now we can be stupid together.” 

Now, Eames wasn’t ashamed to say that he kind of hoped to spend the rest of the morning like this, being stupid with Arthur, but reality had to catch up with them one way or another. This time it was in the form of Cobb, Ariadne and Yusuf bursting through his door.

“Eames, where the hell did you go last - Oh” Ariadne stopped short and Eames followed her eyes to where Arthur was leaning close to him, Arthur’s hand around his waist.

“Get out of it! You two?” Yusuf looked incredulous, “you sly old pair of dogs.”

Cobb rolled his eyes, “You two aren’t going to be all couple-y with each other now, are you? You’re barely tolerable on your own.”

Grinning, Eames addressed the three of them, “Thank you so much for you words of confidence.”

“Don’t look so happy,” Arthur was moving towards the door, “I still have to go and talk to Isabelle.” He looked pained. “She can’t be that angry with me, right? I mean, she was the one cheating on me.” 

“Of course she won’t be, darling.” Eames gave him a chaste kiss -his mind was still amazed that he could just do this now, whenever he wanted- that quickly descended into something a lot more desperate. A cough came from over his shoulder and they both turned to rest their eyes upon Cobb’s disapproving face.

“Well. Ok, see you guys later.” Arthur practically shouted from down the corridor. 

Eames heard Ariadne singing next him, “Eames and Arthur sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-”

“Oh – grow up” he interrupted, shoving her lightly. He needed to do something to hide the sappy grin and rising flush on his face.


End file.
